Four-wheel and all-wheel drive vehicles are in great demand due to the enhanced traction control they provide. In many such vehicles, a power transfer device, such as a transfer case or a power take-off unit, is installed in the drivetrain and is normally operable to deliver drive torque to the primary driveline for establishing a two-wheel drive mode. The power transfer device is further equipped with a clutch assembly that can be selectively or automatically actuated to transfer drive torque to the secondary driveline for establishing a four-wheel drive mode. These “mode” clutch assemblies can range from a simple dog clutch that is operable for mechanically shifting between the two-wheel drive mode and a “locked” (i.e., part-time) four-wheel drive mode to a more sophisticated automatically-actuated multi-plate clutch for providing an “on-demand” four-wheel drive mode.
On-demand four-wheel drive systems are able to provide enhanced traction and stability control and improved operator convenience since the drive torque is transferred to the secondary driveline automatically in response to lost traction of the primary driveline. An example of passively-controlled on-demand transfer case is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,863 where the amount of drive torque transferred through a pump-actuated clutch pack is regulated as a function of the interaxle speed differential. In contrast, actively-controlled on-demand transfer cases include a clutch actuator that is adaptively controlled by an electronic control unit in response to instantaneous vehicular operating characteristics detected by a plurality of vehicle sensors. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,874,056, 5,363,938 and 5,407,024 disclose various examples of adaptive on-demand four-wheel drive systems.
Due to the cost and complexity associated with such actively-controlled on-demand clutch control systems, recent efforts have been directed to the use of overrunning clutches that can be controlled to provide various operating modes. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,592 illustrates a pawl-type controllable overrunning clutch assembly installed in a transfer case and which can be shifted between various drive modes. U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,635 discloses a hydraulically-actuated multi-function controllable overrunning clutch assembly that is noted to be operable for use in vehicular power transmission mechanisms. In addition, commonly owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,557,680, 6,579,203, 6,602,159 and 6,652,407 each disclose a controllable overrunning clutch installed in a transfer case which can be shifted by a motor-driven shift system to establish on-demand and part-time four-wheel drive modes. Likewise, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,924,510, 5,951,428, 6,123,183, and 6,132,332 each disclose a controllable multi-mode overrunning clutch installed in a transfer case which is selectively shifted using an electromagnetic clutch.
While several versions of the actively-controlled multi-mode overrunning clutches mentioned above are well-suited for use in power transfer devices, an additional need to provide a two-wheel drive mode is, in most four-wheel drive vehicular applications, required to address fuel economy concerns and permit interaction with anti-lock braking and/or electronic stability control systems. Accordingly, a need exists to continue development of controllable bi-directional overrunning clutches which provide robust operation and reduced packaging size.